Spiritual audit
by Neville Grieger
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‘With all my heart I praise the Lord’ (Luke 1:46).
(Written on the eve of the first day of lockdown to prevent the second wave of COVID-19 in South Australia on 19 November 2020.)
What a way to close out our week with a song of praise! This passage is known as ‘Mary’s Song’, or more formally as ‘The Magnificat’, which can be translated as: my soul magnifies the Lord. It is a wonderful reflection on and celebration of Mary’s deep faith and her love of God at that time.
Perhaps this daily reading provides a special challenge for us in these turbulent times of the 21st century, the year of COVID-19, to make this our own personal song of praise. It is very easy for us to be distracted and despondent about the grim economics, loss of jobs, major hits to assets and super funds – yet, we have much to be thankful for.
It has been really reassuring to see our governments, both at a state and federal level, take a really strong, lifesaving line on the virus. Some countries have allowed the virus to run free and unchecked, which has ultimately led to the unnecessary and premature loss of many lives. We thank and praise God for the relative safety of our countries and the strong leadership of our politicians and public servants.
It seems that for many, COVID may have provided a catalyst for a spiritual audit. It has caused people to pause and reflect on what is really important in life. Leading Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle in ‘The impact of COVID-19 on relationships and spirituality’ makes several interesting observations relating to the positive effect of the virus on the spiritual life of Australian people. We are reminded of the Corinthians passage: ‘The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength’. Yet again, the method in God’s madness!
Lord, give us thankful hearts. Help us to make Mary’s song our song. Amen!
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